Math ED -Literature Review paper -

Literature Review

When it comes to teaching mathematics, the aspect of teaching STEM comes in place. This is because Mathematics is one of the fields that lie within the STEM disciplines. With this in mind, it is important that the past and researched information regarding STEM is put into consideration. In doing so, it will become simpler in making sure that STEM education is well taught in elementary schools. Through a review of journals and articles regarding STEM education, it is possible to come up with mechanisms of improving preservice teachers’ service delivery to elementary school students for all disciplines including mathematics.

Research has established that most elementary school teachers feel that they do not have enough knowledge in the field of STEM. In this research, preservice elementary teachers were given the opportunity to give their own rating on their abilities to teach STEM disciplines to elementary school students. This research went ahead to outline the ways in which teachers’ knowledge and skills can be improved through ways such as integrated place-based activities. The research further gives room for these teachers to come up with their own designs and implementation of STEM design (Anne, Adams, Brant, Melissa, Jerine, 2014). The same information can be applied to teaching mathematics.

It has also been established that the quality of education that preservice elementary schools teachers receive on STEM education also has an impact on their ability to pass the knowledge to their students. This establishes that these teachers deserve to have an opportunity to be also educated on STEM subjects in order to have the knowledge and ability to teach. It is also worth mentioning that it is impossible for a teacher to teach what they do not know (Hacıömeroğlu1, 2018). This, therefore, points out the importance of improving the education systems and programs for the preservice teachers. This is major because the teachers pass the knowledge that they have to their students. Equipping them with the best knowledge, skills, and experience in STEM is, therefore, an important way of ensuring that students will later receive the best STEM education (Teo & Ke, 2014). In a research study that was carried out on the theory of planned behavior in Taiwan, it was established that Stronger STEM teaching was positively related to higher perceived behavioral control. In this research, the conclusion was that a positive appreciation of STEM education resulted in a positive teacher competence in this field (Lin & Williams, 2016).

In the same aspect as the knowledge content of a teacher, a study established that the level of mathematics content in a teacher can be improved through the use of online study materials. As the world goes digital, so should the education system. Digitalization can be beneficial in boosting knowledge and skills among STEM teachers (Swars, Daane & Giesen, 2006). This is because, through exposure to an online learning platform, preservice elementary teachers are able to gain new knowledge and even get reference materials to use in classes.

Further research establishes that the use of Makerspace is a useful tool to engage students studying STEM disciplines. The research focuses on the ability of the teacher to engage their students using Makerspace. Far from improving student engagement, the tool has also been found to be effective in improving the teachers’ professional development. Both the student and the teacher are able to benefit from the use of Makerspace in STEM subjects (Blackley, Sheffield, Maynard, Koul & Walker, 2017). Through this, the idea of mentorship has been brought into picture. When students have their teachers as their mentors, it is possible for them to benefit at a wider range from STEM education. This research is further supported by another research that was carried out on the effectiveness of Makerspace in engaging primary school students in Indonesia. The results were that learning experiences were improved (Blackley, Sheffield & Koul, 2018). This, therefore, points out that teacher preparation to teach STEM subjects can be enhanced through the use of this tool.

The views of preservice teachers on STEM education have been catered for. A researcher carried out research on the opinions and perceptions of preservice and in-service teachers on the STEM education system. Throughout the research, it was established that there are common features between in-service and preservice teachers. They both want to develop their careers in education in various ways (Ejiwale, 2013). One common way is through attending training workshops where they are guided on the different forms of project-based approaches that aid them in teaching STEM subjects. With this research on professional development using project-based approaches, the same knowledge can be applied in teaching other subjects such as languages and mathematics to elementary school students (Beyer & Davis, 2012). This research is further supported by the fact that there is need to reform the education system for preservice elementary school teachers. Their education system should be designed in such a way that it gives focus on how teachers should be prepared to teach STEM subjects in order to improve the end result of service delivery to students (Rogers, Winship & Sun, 2015). It is therefore important to note that case methodologies are taking a big role in the shift from traditional education system which was focused on knowledge towards the STEM education system which is focused on innovation ad real practice (Siew, Amir & Chong, 2015). This is because case methodologies give the students the ability to experience teaching through practice.

Researchers have also addressed the issue of improving formal teacher efficacy as a way of preparing preservice elementary teachers to teach STEM subjects. Scholars have mentioned the idea of teachers n’ training (TNT), which is one of the informal teaching experience from the traditional education system. This study tries to explain the fact that STEM education does not only depend on formal settings, informal settings also boost the ability of the student to remember what they have been taught easily (Flores, 2015). TNT which was used in this case showed that the elementary preservice teachers benefit from this informal science teaching model (Bracey, Brooks, Marlette & Locke, 2013). The teachers were able to make quality presentations after being exposed to this type of informal training.

When it comes to STEM education, the importance of exposing children to this education system at an early age has been mentioned. It is important for kids to get exposed to STEM education at early age as it helps them understand their interests at an early age. This was a conclusion after looking at the declining population of American children who are pursuing STEM degrees and related disciplines in colleges and universities (Lee & Nason, 2012). The decrease was explained by the fact that most of the students were not exposed to STEM education during their early schooling. The job market is narrowing down and there is high demand for people with degrees in STEM and its related courses (DeJarnette, 2012). In order to prepare kids for the future it is important that early exposure to STEM education is improved.

Various scholars have also taken the step to outline ways in which STEM teachers should be prepared to teach. One way of focusing on their preparedness is by investing in their education system. This further pointed out to the need of various education stakeholders to take part in improving their education programs as a way of improving the general education system of a country (Nadelson, Callahan, Pyke, Hay & Schrader, 2009). According to this research,there is need to ensure that these teachers have enough research and study materials in order to improve the general progress in STEM education.

Teacher experience has over time been associated with increased output in terms of their knowledge and ability to engage their students. The same has been found to be an important aspect of STEM teaching. Teachers' pre-practice during their training in colleges and universities has been used by their lecturers to evaluate their ability to go into the field and practice teaching. Researchers have therefore also outlined that periodical field teaching practice by teachers improve their ability to teach STEM subjects (Kennedy & Archambault, 2012). The article goes further to outline the importance of field experiences to these teachers. Through such experiences, they learn other skills and personal competencies that accompany their profession. Their confidence level is boosted through frequent exposure to the teaching environment (Radloff & Guzey, 2016). Similarly, another research that was aimed at establishing what was missing in the STEM teaching curriculum addressed the issue of teaching practice. From this specific research, it was established that preservice teacher exposure had one major positive impact of boosting their confidence. The issue that was being mentioned in this research is the fact that their curriculum was missing enough exposure to prepare them to teach STEM to elementary students. Some of the other benefits that these teachers will achieve as a result of teaching practice exposure are self-efficacy. Their abilities to render teaching services to students are boosted through teaching practice exposures (Jaipal-Jamani & Angeli, 2017). Robotics is another tool that has been found to improve self-efficacy among preservice elementary teachers. In the research, it was established that those teachers who used robotics in teaching science showed an increased interest in teaching as well as improved self-efficacy. Those teachers who have mastered the art of using robotics in designing their lesson plans were able to capture the attention and emotion of their students (Kim, Kim, Yuan, Hill, Doshi & Thai, 2015). This boosted their concentration and hence the general gain from STEM classes.

For an effective output from STEM education, there is need for proper teacher preparation. Studies have therefore gone into finding out ways in which preservice elementary school teachers should be prepared to teach SDTEM disciplines. Some of the preparations that have been outlined include teacher training and induction (Wilson, 2011). This goes hand in hand with the need to prepare these teachers to fit the changing education demands and systems. With the aim of outlining the required preparation for teachers, it was outlined that the learning opportunities that teachers accessed had a direct impact on the quality of knowledge they passed across to their students. The teachers should be able to remain consistent in their ability to provide guidance to their students irrespective of the changes to education systems. Teacher relevance should be maintained through their STEM education systems. This was addressed by the case study on two Korean community schools. The study pointed out t the important of STEM content in ensuring that teachers remained relevant in all STEM education systems that might be incorporated in future (Jho, Hong & Song, 2016). The STEM content of their education also determines the knowledge that they pass across to their students in elementary schools.

One unique aspect of teaching that has been found to be effective in teaching is the use of case and case methodologies. The use of these methods in teaching STEM had the effect of teacher consistency in making use of their knowledge (Eckman, Williams & Silver-Thorn,2016). Preservice elementary school teachers came to learn that it was important to make their lessons and teachings in STEM subjects student-centered (Yoon, Pedretti, Pedretti, Hewitt, Perris & Van Oostveen, 2006). They learned that in order to ensure that students have a maximum gain from their classes; they needed to make sure that they involved them in-class activities.

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